WASHINGTON _ The Trump administration on Friday pressed close ally Kuwait to stop employing North Korean workers in its oil fields, and to do more to defuse the crisis between Qatar and its neighbors.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, after meetings with senior Kuwaiti officials, said the U.S. and Kuwait would take new steps to resolve a 3-month-old dispute that pits a Saudi-led coalition, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, against Qatar over its alleged support for terrorist groups and Iran.
Kuwait has been serving as mediator, with U.S. backing, but without results thus far.
"The United States and Kuwait both recognize the important of GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) unity, to meet the challenges of the region that we all face together," Tillerson said.
Qatar is home to the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East, and its isolation could hurt U.S. operations in the fight against the Islamic State and other missions.
President Donald Trump has sided with Saudi Arabia, but on Thursday, following his own meeting with the emir of Kuwait, Sheik Sabah al Ahmed al Jabbar al Sabah, he voiced support for mediation.
Tillerson said the U.S. had agreed to "expedite" delivery of F-18 Super Hornet aircraft, sold to Kuwait last year as part of a $10 billion arms deal, and both countries agreed to expand sharing of counterterrorism and border security information.
Tillerson said he and his Kuwaiti counterparts also discussed the emirate's employment of guest workers from North Korea.
As part of sanctions to punish Kim Jong Un's government for its recent nuclear and ballistic missile tests, the U.S. is urging countries everywhere to expel North Korean workers, whose salaries provide much needed foreign currency for Pyongyang.
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